FLOOD00898

• County: Statewide
• Title: Floods in Colorado
• Date: 6/1/1948
• Prepared For: State of Colorado
• Prepared By: USGS
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Flood Documentation Report

68

FLOODS IN COLORADO

KIOW.A. AND HIJOU CREEKS
Below Cherry Creek part of the drainage basin of the South Platte
River lying east and south of the river is made up of rolling high plains
on which the normal rainfall is not sufficient to maintain perennial
streams. As the so-called cloudburst zone extends rougWy 50 miles
east of the mOlllltains, Hood run-off from violent storms has formed
numerous waterways extending from tho sou thorn boundary of tho
South Platte Basin to tho main South Platte River. The southern
boundary is the plateau forming the divido botween the South Platte
and Arkansas Rivers. '1'he altitude of this plateau decreases from
7,500 feet at the hend of Kiowa Creek to 5,000 feet where it becomes
tho divide bctwccn the South Platte and Ropublicnn Rivers. Fnrther
east the South Platto RiverBasin narrows rapidly, and the Republi-
can River drainage approaches within a few miles of South Platte
River with no pronounced divide. The strenms in the area have a
fall decrcasing from 35 feet per mile in their upper courses to 15 feet
per mile in their lower courses.
Tho principal streams are Boxelder, Kiowa, Bijou,. and Badger
Creeks. Theso streams are subject to not infrequent cloudburst
floods, the principal damage from which is to bridges, both highway
and railroad. One of the earliest recorded floods on these streams
was that on Kiowa Creek on May 21, 1878. The following account
.by A. B. Sanford is quoted from the Colorado Maga7.ine of July 1937:

Among the unsolved mysteries in Colorado's history is the disappearance of a
standard gage Kansas Pacific [now Union Pacific] locomotive in the quicksands
of Kiowa Creek * * * on the night of May 21, 1878. A sudden flood had
destroyed the wooden bridge that crossed the usually dry channel a short time be-
fore a freight train was due, and owing to the bridge being the low point of a sag
in the roadbed and [tol the high speed of the train, the engine and most of the cars
plunged into a. swirling torrent of water before the engineer realized the situation.
The engineer, fireman, and brakeman went down with the engine, which was
completely buried.
A few days later * *' '" search was begun for the missing engine. LOIlg
metallic rods were driven in the sands. In some places pits were started but soon
abandoned because of the heavy underflow, and the location of the * * * loco-
motive appeared hopeless when it was estimated the bedrock formation was prob-
ably 50 feet below the channel of the Kiowa. [It never was recovered.]

The severest floods known on Kiowa and Bijou Creeks were those
of May 30-31, 1935, which caused the loss of 9 lives, the destruction
of all bridges over these streams, and much damage due to overflow.
Earlier in the month there had been two periods of general rainfall,
May 12-22 and 26-29, during which 2 inches or more of rain fell. As
a result the soil was in condition to Cause a high percentage of run-off
from the storm of May 30.. During this storm there were two periods
of intense rainfall causing two distinct flood.s on Kiowa and Bijou
Creeks. the secOnd bein!! much the greater.

T

MAJOR FLOODS-SOUTH PLATTE RIVER

69

The Denver Pollt of May 31, 1935, quoted an account of the second
1l0od on Kiowa Creek, as given by the telephone operator at Elbert;

Thf:l water came with a roar * * * Within a few minutes the water had
risen to 8 feet around the exchange [a quarter of a mile from the creek]. Down in
the lowlands it was 15 feet high * * * House after house was ripped from
its foundations and swept down the creck. Thirty-seven hOUf~es and stores were
-destroyed-more than half the town. [Later reports reduced this number to 15.]

At Kiowa 15 houses were swept away and some stores wrecked.
Below Kiowa further destruction occurred, as reported by the !'ost:

About three miles above Bennctt the waters tore through the ranch house of
the Ramscys. Sorcnson, the hired man, described what occurred. CtWe were
all inside. The wall of water came down-it must have been 10 feet high. The
honse was ripped right from its foundation and the three of us hurled into the
'stream. About a mile downstream I managed to catch hold of a branch of a.
trec and pulled myself to safety." [Two others were drowned}.

Bennett is some distance from the creek, so no damage occurred in
. _ the town itself, but the Union Pacific Railroad bridge near Bennett
was wnshed out, together with a long stretch of fill on each side. In
the town of Wiggins water several feet deep was reported; families
were stranded on high points which became islands as the water rose.
Near Wiggins, Kiowa Creek washed out 1,000 feet of the Burlington
Railrond track.
Bijou Creek Basin contaiIl/l no towns except Byers, and although
the flood was more severe there than on Kiowa Creek, less damage
appears to have been done. The Deer Trail Tribune of June 7,
1935. stated:

The business part of Byers was flooded and basements filled with water. The
White Hotel had over 2 feet of water in the ground floor. Closer to the river,
north of the highway! the families waded out and found shelter * * * on
higher .ground. * * * The Union Pacific Bridge at * * * Byers, 5
milcf; west of Deer Trail and 1 mile west of town [was) washed out with hundreds
of feet of track and fill on both sides.

The same iilsue of the Tribune describes the approach of the flood
on East Bijou Creek at a point 3 miles west of Deer Trail:

At about 7 :30 Thursday evening [May 30] * * * looked up the creek
and sa.w a wall of water that he declares was 10 or 15 feet high rushing toward
them with a roar like thunder. * * * The men rushed to the house * * ·
but were only ablc to get a few clothes out when they were forced to fight their
way through the rushing strea.m to high ground. * * * In a few minutes
the :nouse and ail the outbuildings were swept downstream.

Near the mouth of the stream the flood destroyed the Burlington
Raihoad Bridge and more than half a mile of tracle Conditions near
thc mouth of Kiowa Crcck and Bijou Creek are described in the
Denver Post, June 2, 1935:

It was only from this height [airplane} we could 'gt"asp the great breadth of tbe
~nnA_+h", 'lI'cu,t. t...,...i+nr'll' t'\'lI'l>1" 'Whip-h 'UTA-tAr'll 'llnrP.An_ Al'lnpp.il'l.llv in f.h". tllAt.Ml"t